PURSUE - Go After Something Bigger

We are now half way through 2023! We opened this year speaking about making the Lord our PURSUIT.

Let’s take this morning to evaluate what we have been pursuing...

A relationship

A job opportunity

A new home

A physically fit body

A new hobby

A new habit

A family commitment

The word pursue means:

to follow someone or something or order to catch (or attack them)

continue or proceed along (a path or route)

to seek attain or accomplish a goal over a long period

We almost all are in pursuit of something in our lives - some goal or desire.

THe challenge I began the year with as a theme for the church was for each to focus on making their own PURSUIT of Jesus!!!

Can I say there is still time for you to reach for something bigger!

Something bigger than this world can afford you or give to you.

Something that will impact your entire life, future and eternity.

I cannot theme out your pursuit - you have to PURSUE GOD for yourself and ask Him what aspect of WHO HE IS that He wants you to pursue!

1. So Much to Pursue in Christ

Most Christians think they have sufficient knowledge of Christ and are content with what they have.

Studies show that the majority of today’s Christians are actually Biblically illiterate… they have just enough knowledge to get by and actually fool themselves...

I want you to think for a minute about how vast God actually is and how there really is to know about Him!

Isaiah 40:12 M:BCL

12 Who has scooped up the ocean in his two hands, or measured the sky between his thumb and little finger, Who has put all the earth’s dirt in one of his baskets, weighed each mountain and hill?

Isaiah 40:12 NLT

12 Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?

I want you to think about this for a moment...

The Lord holds the oceans of the world in His hands - that is 352 Quintillion gallons of water, (a billion billions) 352 and 18 zeros following — if the Lord can hold this in His hands than His greatness is far beyond what we could ever spend a lifetime pursuing, which means there is always something NEW to pursue in Jesus!!!

The prophet also wrote that he holds the universe (heavens) between his pinkie and thumb - the expanse of the universe -

THe closest star to us beside our sun is the Alpha Centauri (actually three stars in their own system) - they are 4.3 light years away, a light year is 5.88 trillion miles, or over 25 trillion miles away -

It would take the average person driving in true Colorado fashion 73,000 years to drive to the closest star in the universe - yet he holds all galaxies in the universe between his thumb and pinkie finger!

When I say let’s pursue God- I am offering an endless supply of greatness to go after!

We give 5 times more of our time a year on average watching Netflix as we do going to church - shouldn’t we consider pursuing something of greater value?

Ask yourself, How am I doing pursuing the knowledge of the Lord and WHO HE IS this year?

2. Our Highest Pursuits are Toilet Trash in Comparison

Before you think I am trashy, these are the words of Paul!

You may remember this part from January… but it is important to revisit...

Philippians 3:8–10 NLT

8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death,

Philippians 3:8–10 M:BCL

8 Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ 9 and be embraced by him. I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God’s righteousness. 10 I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself.

In other words, Paul, who was a successful Jewish Pharisee - counted the pursuit of anything in this world to be equivalent with dog poop when compared to pursuing the greatness of Christ.

I cannot tell you what to pursue about the Lord, but I can tell you to not pursue it is to focus on dog poop instead of eternal treasure.

Yet, people are so content to roll around in the poo! Paul says, I don’t want my connection with Jesus to be so inferior when there is something so robust waiting for me!

If you consider yourself someone who likes to grab life by the horns - you go for the gusto, go out for the long shots, aim high for the big stuff — compared to pursuing Christ your a maggot on dog poo.

1 Chronicles 28:9 NLT

9 “And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.

There will always be a pile of the steamy stuff waiting to pull you away from the important purpose of Seeking first the Kingdom of God...

You have the choice which one you will find more important.

What do you smell like this year????

3. Prepping for Pursuit

Bring up James for a conversation on preparing for the hunt - the pursuit of a Moose or a Long Horned Sheep

Scout out the land, prepare the gear, make maps, prepare the weapons, etc.

In order to track and capture the animal a plan has to go in place for the pursuit

There is no pursuing God without putting in the time to:

Pray

Fast

Worship

Read the Word

Serve in Church (the body of Christ)

James wasn’t catching a moose without getting up into Moose land and knowing where they ate, hung out, and responded to things around them...

How do we pretend to know God without getting into His house, up in His business, and scoping Him out to know what He likes, how He responds and what He will do????

1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT

12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

We may not know all there is to know now, but if we never endeavor to pursue that knowledge of God we will never encounter all that He has planned for us.

James 4:8 NLT

8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

In order to discover God - WE MUST PUT IN THE PREP TIME TO DRAW NEAR TO GOD - and HE PROMISES TO MEET US and COME NEAR TO US WHEN WE DO!!!

Cleanse your hearts, wash your hands, and make your loyalty to Him alone!!!

If there is anything in this world you spend more time pursuing than Jesus - your loyalty is most likely divided!

CONCLUSION

This morning I want us to evaluate are we PREPPING our hearts to PURSUE God with all that is within us.

That begins with MAKING TIME (not finding time, making time) to spend with Christ, pursuing Him so we can draw closer and hear His voice.

It is not too late to discover God’s goals for our 2023 so we can go hard after Him and His plans!

Jeremiah 29:11–14 M:BCL

11 I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. 12 “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen. 13 “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. “Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, 14 I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree. “I’ll turn things around for you. I’ll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you”—God’s Decree—“bring you home to the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it.

Right now, I want to invite you to come to the altar - and surrender to the Lord, to make a commitment to PURSUE HIM this year and to start pursuing Him regardless the distractions that may have held you back, and make way for Him to move in your life.